Safety appliance for railway switches



Jul 117, 1923. swm

B. R. HOOKS SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES Filed Nov. l4, 1922 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Y t/dmwgi A A TTORA/EVS h more particularly directed to adevice for Th invention is illustrated loy way of BENTLEY R. HOOKS, 6FAMARILLQ, TEXAS.

still) line AJEPLIANQLE FOR RAILWAY SWITCHES- llnplication filedNovember M, 1922. serial lie. ecosec.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, BENTLEY lit. Hoons, a citizen of the United States,and a resident oi Amarillo, in the county of Potter and State of Texas,have invented certain new and useful lniprovements in Safety Appliancesfor Railway Switches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to switches and is route of travel. The switchpoint t is adapted to he moved with the switch point 3 in the directionindicated by the arrow in F igure 1- to form a gap between the switchpoint 4 and the main rail Q for'permitting the train to continue itstravel along the rails l and 2 in a direct line. When the switch points3 and t are'moved in a direction which is opposite to the directionindicated by the arrow, the train will be shifted to the rails 5 and 6which are curved away from the main rails 1 and 2.

Means for moving the switch-points 3 and tis' not shown since it isan'old and well known feature in the art.

Due to a defective switch or defective. switch points the switch point 3frequently formsa gap with the main rail l and through which the flangesof a wheel will pass, shifting the train to the tracks 5 and 8. When thetrain is travelling at a hi "h speed such sudden shifting of the trainwill cause de-railment of the same. lln order to prevent the flanges ofthe wheels oil a train from passing through the gap of such a defectiveswitch, it have deformed the main track rail 1 just in front of thepoint of junction of the switch rail and the main rail, which provides adeformation on the side of the main rail to engage the flange of thewheels of the train on that side and bodily shift the wheels outwardly"from the main rail and suficiently to guide the Flange of the wheelsaway from the detective switch point and cause the wheels to continnetravel along the main line represented hy the tracks 1 and 2.

This deformation may he formed hy weld ing on the hall oi the rail aearn-shaped member. The welding may he done by the city-acetyleneprocess. llnstead of welding the earn shaped member to the hall of arail whereby the same forms an integral construction the cam-shapedmember may he so constructed that it may he clamped to the rail as willhe presently descriloed.

preventing the so-called switch wrecks ll-leretotore it has beenproposed to construct devices for preventing the switch points oil arailroad switch from forming a gap with the main rails whereby the usualflange of the ;."-wheels of a train will cut through the gap and cause atrain goin at a great speed to he thrown into a switch and de railed.

An object of this invention is the provision of device which does notprevent gaps heing formed but which is adaptedprimarily for guiding thewheels of a train past a defective switch and maintaining said train ondirect ro'uteof travel.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a safety devicefor laterally shitting; the'wheels of a train from a detec tive switchpoint and which is also adapted to prevent injury to the switch points.

@ther ohjects and advantages of the invention. will hecorne apparentduring the course of following; description.

split example in the accompanying drawings in whicln Fignre l' is a planview of a switch show ng safety, device in position relative o theswitch points.

Fignre. 2 is a side view of my safety device apg ilied to railc Figure 3is a view in perspective ofthe safety device constructed according to myinvention a is a transverse vertical section of the lleferringbto thesafety device which is l ignre 5 is a transverse vertlcal sectiondesignated y the numeral 7 and which is of the safety device showin amodified "form oi means for clamping to safety device to rail.

Referring to thedrawings, l and 2 designate a pair of the main rails,which in cooperation with the switch point oil the switch rail l areadapted to mainta n a train moving over the rails on its direct and l, amain plate 8 is provided which is adapted to be located in face to faceengagement with the welo 9 of the rail and having a shoulder 16 at itsupper end in en agement withrthe under sid of the head ti an e 11 of therail and with the other end of the plate having a shoulder 12 engagementmore particularly shown in Figures 2, 3

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with the lower face or the base flange 13. The plate is abruptly reducedtoward its lower end and terminates in a shoulder 12. Offset from theplane of the plate 8 is an elongated upstanding cam member 14 whichextends longitudinally of the plate and is provided with a lateralprojection 15 which is tapered toward its opposite end and terminates atthe ends of the plate 8. A rib 16 is formed below and cooperates withthe shoulder 10 to connect the cam member 14 to the plate 8. Said riblikewise provides means for strengthening the plate at this point.

The plate is provided with a pair of per- 'forations adapted to receivebolts 17 the heads 18 of which have a portion cut away to form a lug 19which is adapted to be re-,

ceived within a notch 20 formed in the rib 16 whereby rotation of thebolts 17 is prevented. A lock washer 21 mounted on the opposite edgeofthe bolt 17 which projects beyond the other face of the web 9 is en- 'aed between the web and a nut 22 having a t readcd en agement with thethreaded end oi the be t 17.

Reinforcing members 23 are formed on the plate 8 adjacent theperforation in the plate through which the bolts 17 pass for strengtisuing the plate at these points.

As shown in Figure 4:, the inner face oi. the plate 8 adjacent theshoulder 10 is cut away as shown at 2% roviding a space between theplate and t e rail at this point.

As shown in Figure 5, a modified form of securing means is employed forlooking the satety device to rail, The safety device 7 is similar in allrespects to the safety device 7 of Figures 1 to iinclusive, but insteadof perforating the said device l have provided a pair or clampingmembers 25 and 26 which are adapted to engage op- .posite sides of theloot flange l3 and are locked together by means of bolts 2? passingthrough the clamping member. No cut away portion 2t is shown in the saiety device 7 but the shoulder l0 snugly fits the rail between the web 9and the under face of the head flange 11.

The clamp 2c is provided with a rib 28 which is seated between theshoulders 29 and 30 of the safety device 7 with the bottom of the clampbeing provided with a longitudinal groove 31 which is adapted to receiveone longitudinal edge of the base The other member 25 of the clampcomprises longitudinal bar having a longitudinal groove 32 of a shape toreceive and snugly fit the opposite edge of the base flange 13 'oi. therail. The bolts 17 pass through alined perforations in the members 25and 2d and engage the bottom lace of the base tlange l3 and are providedwith nuts for drawing up the clamping members for maintaining the safetydevice 7 wedged bewhich is turned away from the main track.

The cam, by laterally shifting the wheel away from the defective switchpoint, will cause the wheels to continue along their direct line oftravel on the main route with the'wheels on one side hugging the insideof the switch point instead of the wheel passing between the switchpoint and the oflset rail.

Furthermore, the safety device by constantly shifting the wheels awayfrom the switch point will prevent wear and tear upon the switch pointswhich is a constant source} of worry to railroad oficials. lt must beborne in mind that the action of the safety device is not to provide acure for a defective switch point or to prevent the switch points fromforming a gap, but it is primarily designed to deform the main rail insuch a manner that the wheels of a swiftly moving train are shiftedlaterally to an extent whereby the wheels will pass beyond the switchpoint and over line of travel;

What ll claim is:

l. A device of the character described comprisin a plate adapted to beclamped to the web 0 a rail in front of the switch point of a switch,and having acam member extending longitudinally of the plate with thecam member gradually increasing in thickness from its opposite endstoward its middle portion to form a lateral projection for causing alateral shifting of the wheels or a train away from the switch point ota switch which is adapted to lie in contiguous relationwith the rail 2.A device of the class described com prising a plate adapted to beclamped to 7 the web of a rail in front of the switch point of a switch,and having an ohset portion extending upwardly in embracing relationwith a side of the head flange of a rail said odset portion forming alateral projection extending outwardly from the plate said lateralrejection tapering in opposite direction romthe center of the oid'setportion toward the ends t iereoic' for causing a lateral shifting of thewheels of a train away from the switch point,

3. A device or'the class described comprising a plate adapted to beclamped to the web of a rail in front of the switch pointof a switch,and having a shoulder adapted to engage the under side of the headflange of a rail, an upstanding flange offset from the plate andconnected to the plate by the shoulders, said upstanding flange beingprovided with a cam member adapted to engage the wheels of a train forcausing a, lateral shifting of the wheels away from the switch point.

l. A device for preventing split switch wrecks at defective switchescomprising a plate adapted to be clamped to the web of a rail in frontof the switch point of a switch and having a cam-shaped member forengaging the wheels of the train for causing said wheels to-continue ina straight line along the main track thereby preventin the wheels fromengaging the split switc and forcing the wheels into the switch.

5. A device of the class described com-.

prising a plate adapted to be clam ed to the web of a rail in front ofthe switc point of a switch, said plate having spaced parallellongitudinally disposed shoulders engaging the head flange andfootflange of a rail with the inner face of the plate in face to faceengagement with the web of the rail, a longitudinal rib projectingoutwardly from the shoulder on the plate which is located adjacent thehead flange of the rail, an upstanding flange connected to the plate bythe rib and last mentioned shoulder, said upstanding flange beingprovided with a lateral projecting cam member having its greatest widthat its middle portion and tapering outwardly toward its opposite ends,said plate being provided with spacedperforations, and means passingthrough the per forations for securing the plate to the rail.

BENTLEY n. noons.

